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Anyone who has formed a nonprofit or read the “How to Start a Nonprofit” FAQ understands that it involves extensive time, dedication and expense. For that reason it is important to summarize the advantages and disadvantages of this venture. The vast majority of questions coming to the ASU Lodestar Center focus on nonprofits being organized for religious and charitable purposes. Such an organization qualifies for tax exemption under the Internal Revenue Code as a 501(c)3. In the IRS code there are over 35 designations for nonprofits. Careful research needs to be done to determine the correct designation. This article will be limited to the examining the advantages and disadvantages of 501(c)3s."

Thursday, May 06, 2010

Is it time to switch to nonprofit sector? �| ajc.com: "For many years, Steve Perry was a top sales performer in corporate America. As Southeast area manager for Gartner, the leading information technology research and advisory company, he was also a leader for charitable causes. Perry led the United Way campaign for his division and later joined the board of TechBridge, a nonprofit organization that provides IT advice to other nonprofits.

He found himself more drawn to philanthropy and fund-raising. “I loved the intangible feeling that you get when you help another person. It was time for me to evolve my career,” he said."

Foundations appear to have responded quickly and intelligently to the economic crisis, directing more of their money for recession relief to the hardest-hit parts of the country, according to a study released today.

The study was conducted by Douglas Holtz-Eakin, president of the American Action Forum and former director of the Congressional Budget Office, and paid for by the Philanthropic Collaborative, a group of foundations, nonprofit organizations, and lawmakers"

Riders brave weather for charity | thespectrum.com | The Spectrum: "Walker was part of the 16th anniversary Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America. He was joined by legendary NASCAR driver Harry Gant and an estimated 200 motorcyclists in the trek that began Saturday in Indian Wells, Calif., and will end May 9 in Randleman, N.C."

Think of charitable giving as investing | PoconoRecord.comIn fact, when ordinary people give small gifts to dozens of different groups, it may be a tell-tale sign that their giving is off the cuff, rather than strategic. It's an indication that you're responding to a friend or pitch, and treating giving much like buying shoes.

The painful acknowledgement of coming up shortWe experienced this recently, as we had to re-think our involvement in the PlayPumps initiative, which brings clean drinking water to rural African villages. When we were first introduced to the technology, we believed both the technology and the business model for its deployment had enormous potential and jumped in with both feet to help create PlayPumps International-U.S. as a US-based fundraising and marketing organization to support the initiative. As we’ve noted in the past, we’re proud of the successes the initiative has had - PlayPumps are now bringing play opportunities and improved access to safe water in hundreds of communities and schools in Africa. In addition, these efforts have helped spark a number of new play-related technologies now being offered by various organizations and the initiative has highlighted the important role that social entrepreneurship can play in global development. However, we also acknowledge that the organization has fallen short of the aggressive goals that were developed at the outset, and all involved have learned many lessons.

Wednesday, May 05, 2010

The Nonprofit Quarterly | The Nonprofit Quarterly | Nonprofit Newswire | Challenges Ahead for New Foundation HeadMay 1, 2010; Source: The Gazette | This interview with the new CEO of the Memorial Health System Foundation is useful for its insights into an unusual kind of change in the hospital sector. We have written in the NPQ Newswire about nonprofit hospitals being acquired by for-profits. In this case, a public hospital in Colorado Springs is undergoing major changes in its health care practices while a citizen commission examines whether to reorganize the hospital as a nonprofit.

Tuesday, May 04, 2010

Nick Jonas and Bayer Diabetes Care Announce 'Give Back. Simply Win.' - KTEN.com News Weather Sports Ardmore Durant Sherman Denison-: "Bayer's 'Give Back. Simply Win.' contest was designed to reward people with diabetes for their charitable efforts. Entering the contest is simple; it is open to people with diabetes in three age categories: 6 to 12, 13 to 17 and 18+ years. Contestants can visit www.NicksSimpleWins.com and answer three questions about their charitable efforts. Nick and a team of judges will select one grand prize winner from each of the three age categories. The contest begins today and entries will be accepted until August 5, 2010."

Exclusive : Citi’s work and future strategies in microfinance | Microfinance News: "Microfinance Focus, May 4, 2010: Microfinance Focus has taken an exclusive interview with Robert Annibale, Citi Foundation’s Global Director of Microfinance, and Pam Flaherty, Director of Citi Corporate Citizenship and CEO and President of the Citi Foundation who speaks extensively about Citi’s work and future strategies in microfinance and the role of donors."

In an informal poll of fund raising clients it was not surprising to learn that a major challenge in the current economy is donor retention. In addition, this is the #1 question we get in emails and telephone calls each week. Here is what we have learned from donors we have interviewed over the years, and of late, in recent studies about their continued giving."

DeVoses donate $22 million to Kennedy Center program | freep.com | Detroit Free Press: "Betsy and Dick DeVos of Grand Rapids have pledged the money to the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., for the newly named DeVos Institute of Arts Management at the Kennedy Center. The gift, announced Monday in Washington, includes $2.5 million to support operations at the institute over five years and an additional $20 million to create an endowment."

Monday, May 03, 2010

Orchestra's $1.1m loss a 'short-term issue': "TS home is the Opera House and it plays under star conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy, but they were not enough to save Sydney Symphony from a loss of almost $1.1 million last year.

The orchestra's managing director, Rory Jeffes, said the global financial crisis had contributed to the 2009 loss and that the result ''will obviously impact how we look to run the business'', in particular the structure of its music series."

A Year of Living Generously: The land of good-deed-doing - thestar.com: "Some people spend a year indulging themselves, travelling the world in grand style. Not Lawrence Scanlan. The much-published author and community service activist spent a year living generously in a highly innovative way to demonstrate that individual kindnesses are as important as big-bucks philanthropy. He chose to be a volunteer, rather than mere observer, at 12 Canadian-based or Canadian-supported philanthropic groups. It took him about a year, spending a month at each. The result is A Year of Living Dangerously: Dispatches from the Front Lines of Philanthropy (Douglas & McIntyre, 343 pages, $32.95)."

'It will be a world-class university with a large endowment,' 64-year-old Premji told Forbes magazine noting, 'Most of these institutes are a complete mess with the teachers leading the classes worse than the teachers that come to get trained.'"

Wealthiest Colleges Reap Biggest Tax Subsidies -CBO: "WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- Most tax-exempt borrowing by colleges and universities benefited the schools who can most easily afford to finance capital projects on their own, the Congressional Budget Office said in a Friday report."